Dan Coudreaut (born November 8, 1965) is an American chef. He was the
executive chef
A chef de cuisine (, French language, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that Supervisor, leads a kitchen and its cooks. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is a chef ...
and vice president of culinary innovation at
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
from 2004 to 2018.
Biography
Coudreaut started his culinary career at the age of 14, washing dishes in a local restaurant in his hometown of
Ossining, New York. In 1995, he graduated at the top of his class from the
Culinary Institute of America.
Culinary career
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Coudreaut was hired as executive sous chef at
Café Pacific before becoming the club chef at the
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, both of which are in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
.
In 2000, he moved to the field of chain restaurants, joining
Metromedia Company's Ponderosa Steakhouse and
Bonanza Family Steakhouse chains as director of culinary product development. He joined McDonald's in 2004, taking over as executive chef from
Rene Arend. As executive chef, Coudreaut's main responsibility was helping the creative team of chefs to create concepts and develop new menus for McDonald's approximately 36,900 outlets. In 2012, he released a YouTube video revealing the recipe of the special sauce for the
Big Mac
The Big Mac is a brand of hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced by a Greater Pittsburgh Region, Greater Pittsburgh area Franchising, franchisee in 1967 and expanded nationwide in 1968, and ...
. He left the company in 2018.
Accomplishments
Coudreaut has been listed among the NRN 50:R&D Culinarians by ''
Nation's Restaurant News
''Nation's Restaurant News'' (''NRN'') is an American trade publication, founded in 1967. NRN covers the foodservice industry, including restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Me ...
'' in 2003. In 2006, he received the magazine's Chef/Innovator MenuMasters Award.
He also sang lead vocals in Chef Dan and the Appetizers, a classic rock band formed by McDonald's employees in 2008 to raise money for
Ronald McDonald Charities.
Menu contributions
Coudreaut was responsible for the addition of several items to McDonald's national menu, including:
* Asian and Southwest Chicken Salads
* Angus and Chicken
Snack Wraps
* Angus Burger sandwich line
* McCafe coffee drinks
* Oatmeal
* Real Fruit Smoothie beverages
* Spicy
Premium Chicken sandwich
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coudreaut, Dan
1965 births
American business executives
American chefs
American male chefs
Culinary Institute of America alumni
Living people
McDonald's people
People from Ossining, New York